Pedro Martinez claims '90 percent' of beanings were intentional

Feb. 19, 2013
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Boston Red Sox starter Pedro Martinez exchanges words with New York Yankees' Karim Garcia, left, after Martinez hit him with a pitch in the fourth inning of Game 3 of the American League Championship Series in Boston Saturday, Oct. 11, 2003. / Charles Krupa / AP

by Ted Berg, USA TODAY Sports

by Ted Berg, USA TODAY Sports

Appearing in Red Sox camp as a special assistant to Boston GM Ben Cherington, Pedro Martinez ‚?? one of the most dominant starting pitchers of all time‚?? admitted to reporters on Monday that "probably 90 percent" of the batters he beaned in his career were plunked on purpose.

Of course they were.

In Pedro's heyday, his devastating arsenal was trumped only by his impeccable control and his reputation for pitching inside. In his 2000 campaign with the Red Sox ‚?? arguably the best single-season pitching performance in history ‚?? Martinez finished second in the American League in hit batsman despite finishing with the second-lowest walk rate in the majors.

And given that Martinez yielded the fewest baserunners per inning of any pitcher in history that season, for a lot of hitters, a fastball to the backside probably represented the best hope of reaching first base off the tiny right-hander.

Martinez did say that the pitch that hit Karim Garcia and sparked a bench-clearing altercation in the 2003 ALCS was unintentional, adding that "it didn't even hit him, it hit the bat," and calling Garcia a "lucky bastard."

As for the intentional beanings, Martinez said, "there are some that were in retaliation. Some of them to show them that some things I wouldn't allow them to do."